Spirit Bound
by XxFormidablePassionxX
Summary: Rose is back at St. Vladimir's Academy. She made many promises in her first couple of days back. That was before she learned she had failed to keep the one promise she nearly killed herself to keep. Now with time running out Rose has some choices to make
1. Prologue

_AN: The VA series belongs to Richelle Mead.

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Prologue

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It isn't easy, losing the one you love.

What makes it harder is the fact that you never really lost them. Physically the love of my life, Dimitri Belikov is still out there. Mentally and emotionally? He was lost that fateful day, when the school was attacked by Strigoi. They took him from me. His warmth, his love, his kindness, even his Zen life lessons.

He taught me how to control myself. Maybe more importantly though, he taught me how to lose control with the one I loved, when it mattered. I will never forget that day in the cabin, nor will I be able to separate it from the attack that lead to me losing him. I can only be grateful for the time we spent in there, losing our control with one another.

When I left the first time from St. Vladimir's I never expected to be back. I had to protect Lissa at all costs. When Dimitri brought us back from Seattle I was furious about it. How was I suppose to protect her in the very place that she needed protection from? He taught me, in the months that followed, how little I actually knew. That if I truly wanted to take care of Lissa the way I so badly yearned to, I needed to stay there and learn everything I could, from the Academy, as well as from him. It was then, that I fell in love with him. I gave him my heart and soul. He lost a part of it when he lost his own soul when he was "awakened" months ago.

After being back at St. Vlad's there was so much that had happened. The last year has seemed so unreal. I wish it was. I wish that it was all just a dream that I would be able to wake up from. I know, too, that everything that I have been through in the last year has made me who I am today. He helped with that. He was suppose to be Lissa's other guardian. We were going to have him reassigned so we could be together without putting her in harms way.

Lissa. My best friend in the whole world. The bond we share insures that we are never _truly _apart from one another. I was able to prove that when I was half way around the world. Well, at least I was never truly without her. She wasn't able to peek in on me and my life like I was able to her. Since the bond only works one way she was as alone as if I really left her. Even though I knew I didn't. I was even able to be there for her in the end when things with Avery went wrong. I also discovered that being Shadow Kissed is not something that you can simply walk away from. I still felt the affects from her. I was still able to pull the darkness and shadows from her mind. In a way they helped me get through my time in Russia. They helped fuel the rage that I used to destroy all the Strigoi that I did. So in a way, it was sort of a blessing I suppose you could say. If I were one to believe in God. I usually stay away from the Chapel. Especially since I know what has happened in the attic of the Chapel, that doesn't seem very Godly to me.

The Attic of the Chapel was Lissa and Christian's love nest. That is where it all started. They love one another like Dimitri and I love one another, or use to love one another. It is amazing. The way they look at one another can be painful to see. At least it would be if they were still together. Avery pulled some pretty nasty stunts, ended up secluding Lissa from everyone and making her look unstable. In the process she was not thinking straight. She ended up hiding something from Christian. He had to break it off with her. He wasn't able to look at her the same. Knowing that she hid something like that from him. It hurt him so much hearing it from Jill at practice. If she would have told him, then things would have been fine. If it truly meant nothing, there was nothing to hide from him. So I have to fix that. I need to make it better. I love Lissa like a sister and, well, it seems that Christian has grown on me too. I love him like a brother. I want to see them happy. Even if it does cause me pain to see them look at one another the way Dimitri and I use to look at one another. Not to mention, if I can make Lissa happy again, I won't feel her pain and longing for Christian. On the other hand, I risk being jolted awake while they are in the Attic showing how much they love one another.

Sleep hasn't come very easy for me since I received the letter and the stake from Dimitri confirming that I had failed another one of his lessons. I have been very uneasy. Nightmares consume my sleep, I wake up sweaty and not feeling very rested at all. Unless I fall asleep and end up in an Adrian dream. Adrian is able to dream walk. He uses it as a way to be able to talk to me alone. Since he is a spirit user as well, he is able to see my aura. He hasn't been happy with what he has seen lately but there is not much I can do about it right now. Lately I have been welcoming his dreams. I use them as a way to escape from my own nightmares. I still wake up feeling utterly exhausted, but not frightened and sweaty. I much rather prefer the former than the latter. I'm not sure how to deal with Adrian now though. I promised him that I would give him a fair chance when I returned. Honestly, I never even planned on returning. I was sure that my quest was going to kill me. Yet he understood. He gave me the means to get to where I needed to go and to complete, well try to complete, my task. To fulfill my promise to Dimitri. Now I'm just not sure I can fulfill the promise I made to him, not now that I know that Dimitri is still alive and that there is a chance that I could save him.

I promised him a chance though and I will give him that. Even if it doesn't work out. I am a woman true to my word. Besides I made other promises when I returned. Promises I was sure I was able to keep. Before I knew Dimitri had survived. I promised my Mother, Janine Hathaway that I would stay the two and a half months left to graduate. In order to do that, I have to take extra class work and begin guardian training with Guardian Alberta Petrov. So if I am stuck here for another two months waiting for Dimitri to come and end my life, or for me to give him his back, then I can at least try in that time to give Adrian his fair chance. I am just not sure it will actually _be_ fair. If my heart still belongs to someone I can save, well I am not sure he will be getting the fair chance that he asked for. The question now is, can I save Dimitri?

When I met Oksana and Mark in Russia they told me about the fairy tale. About Robert, another Spirit user who was able to restore a Strigoi to their former self and get their soul back. The only problem is. Robert is no where to be found. The only person in the whole world that may have even the slightest idea of where he may be is his half brother, the one man in this world I truly hate. Victor Dashkov. Now I have to give Victor the one thing he desires most in life right now. His freedom. I have to find him and break him from jail. I am going to have to bring Lissa along to do it, although she doesn't know it. Another promise I made when I returned. That if I ever, _ever_, had to leave for any reason again, that she go with me. She didn't think we should ever be separated. When Mia asked why she wasn't with me when I was in Russia, it bothered her more than anything else ever had.

Now I must take my best friend, to break out of prison, the man who tortured her and forced her to heal him. So that I can find his brother and figure out how I can save the one man I love, my soul mate, Dimitri Belikov. All I have to do is wait until graduation day. Then Lissa and I will begin our quest. I just hope that I am able to wait that long.


	2. Chapter One

_AN: The VA Series is owned by Richelle Mead. Only Original places and characters are mine._

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Chapter One

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I stood in the sunlight breathing steadily again. A shiver ran down my spine making my skin pimple up like goose flesh. The second week of May was nice and warm but the sun did nothing to stop the cold that radiated from the dreams that woke me. For the world outside, it was the middle of the day, for the Academy it was the middle of the night.

Once more I was awakened by the nightmares in a cold sweat. I had only been back a few days and yet my dreams had been echoing the time that I spent away in Russia. My whole body shivered again involuntarily at the thought of Russia. I took a deep breath and looked around the field at the trees surrounding the campus. No one was awake. The occasional guardian on patrol but they were easily avoided. I needed to sneak back into my room and attempt to get some semblance of sleep before morning. Tomorrow was my first day back in classes since I left in on my birthday back in March.

As I slowly crept back into the novice dorm I heard a woman call my name. I froze, knowing I was caught, and turned. There stood Alberta. Even though she hid it well I could still see it creep out behind her eyes, the sympathy. I didn't want that from anyone. Especially now, especially knowing that he was on his way back here for me.

"I see you are having trouble sleeping, Miss. Hathaway. Is this something that you need to see Dr. Olendzki for?" She addressed me so formally because she was on patrol and I knew it. There was a certain respect that she held for me now.

"No need for doctors guardian Petrov, just getting some air. I was heading back to my room right now." I responded.

She nodded at me "Good. We have practice in the morning, I suggest you get as much rest as possible. I need to make sure that you are ready for the end of school trials."

I nodded back to her and turned back towards the novice building. When I walked back in the guardian at the desk remained with their back to me, I knew this was the work of Alberta. If they did not see me, they could not get me in trouble. I smiled to myself. I walked quickly up to my room and locked the door. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to sleep but I laid in bed anyway. I busied my mind with thoughts of Lissa and Christian. What was I going to do about them?

Soon enough I was slamming my hand down on my alarm. I sighed and didn't feel quite rested. I got up and dressed quickly. I barely remembered the last thoughts I had about my best friend and her current relationship problems. I only remember that I thought it was a good idea. I hope that some time today it will come back to me. I finished tying my hair up and sprinted down outside the novice building.

On my way to the gym I noticed that the it was still fairly light outside. Summer was going to be here soon. I sprinted to the gym where I began stretching. I had beat Alberta here. I rarely did that when Dimitri was the one training me. I stepped inside and it was like a I ran full force into a wall. I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I felt my heart beat slightly faster as I looked around the all too familiar large room.

Ever since I knew I was going to be training back in this room I had been trying to mentally prepare myself for this moment. I still wasn't ready for the force of the pain that hit me as I stood here now. I was glad that I had set my alarm early and beat Alberta here. I did not want her to witness me this way. I don't know what she would see on my face, possibly nothing at all, however maybe she would see all the pain that was tearing me apart on the inside.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and walked to the middle of the floor and started stretching on the mats. Tucking away the feelings that I was experiencing right now and trying to avoid the ones that were trying to break the surface. It was hard to avoid the memories. Remembering the way that he pinned me on these mats before, the way that I kissed him, simply to show him that he was not always in control like he wanted everyone to believe. Every memory was like a stab in my heart.

Alberta walked in and saw me. Without a word she stretched next to me. After a few more minutes of that she just looked at me.

"Rose, maybe today we should work on the track, then after classes we can work on more technique." She spoke straight faced to me, hiding well that she was just giving me what I needed.

I nodded and headed out the side door to the track, where yet again, more memories hit me. I took off running on the track that was cooling down from a day in the sun. As I ran it felt like I was running past all the pain, trying to outrun it all. Alberta just stood there with the stop watch clocking it all.

I ran breathless up to Alberta and started to head back into the gym for a cool down stretch. She handed me a towel to wipe my sweat.

"You made good time out there Miss. Hathaway. A seven mile run in a little under half an hour is unusual. I suspect that your muscles may be unhappy about it tomorrow though." She almost smiled at me.

"Yeah, well, Guardian Petrov, I don't give my muscles a choice in the matter." I spoke breathlessly as I began stretching on the mats again.

"When we meet after your classes Miss. Hathaway, I want you to show me what you have learned in your time here at the Academy, also in your extra sessions. Then we will move on from there and see what else there is that I can teach you." She was careful, I noticed, not to say his name.

I nodded as I was schooling my breathing and stretching my muscles. I felt them burning a little and I knew that she was right, they would be sore for tomorrow mornings practice. I looked at the time and stood up straight.

"See you after class Guardian Petrov." I called to Alberta as I walked away.

I headed to the novice dorm. I reached out through the bond to feel for Lissa to see if she was awake yet. She was. She was excited. She was happy to have me back. I smiled a little. It was nice to be back where I could protect her. I put up the block again and continued on to the dorm badly in need of a shower when I saw Eddie coming towards me. He smiled at me. It never seemed like his smile reached his eyes since Spokane but he was getting help now and a little more of the old Eddie was coming back slowly. He was changed forever though, just like the rest of us. I smiled inside thinking of Mia living at Court with her father and how drastically she had changed for the better.

"Hey, Rose. Coming back from practice with Alberta?" he asked me causally.

"Yeah, I need to shower before breakfast. Is that where you are headed now?" I was suddenly curious as where Eddie was headed this early. No one was really up at this time.

"Oh, um, yeah. I will see you there ok?" He looked uncomfortable and started to walk away. I watched him go.

"Yeah, see ya, Eddie." I said a little quietly.

After my shower I dressed for the day and headed down for breakfast. I brushed my hair and set my hair brush on the desk and looked at the envelope that held the card from Dimitri. I picked up the silver stake that I thought ended his life and given him release. Sighing I slid it into my desk. I know I didn't need it on campus. I would feel safer with it on me, if I was found with it before graduation though, the consequences could get me in trouble.

I walked into the breakfast area and quickly found Lissa beaming as brightly as a the sun had when I woke up. I gave her the best smile I could. She was sitting with Eddie and I was reminded about my encounter with him this morning. I went and grabbed a couple doughnuts from the breakfast line then sat across from Lissa.

"Hey guys. How's it going?" I asked as I started shoving a bite of doughnut into my mouth.

"How did your first training go with Guardian Petrov?" Lissa asked.

Eddie just looked at her and me and I smiled "It went well, Liss. Why are you so excited this morning?" I asked her.

She just smiled at me "Oh, Rose, I'm just so happy to have you back!"

It was true. I felt it. She was thrilled. Eddie was looking around the room and suddenly his smile faltered just a little. When Lissa looked over at him though he recovered it. When I looked in the direction he was looking I saw who he had seen. I felt my heart squeeze for Lissa. I imagine that it may be the same way that Eddie felt when he saw him too.

Christian was standing at the door and avoided looking in Lissa's direction. He headed over to the feeders immediately. Lissa followed my gaze and I felt the sudden change in her mood. It was powerful. It was nothing like the wall of emotions I had hit this morning yet it was still painful. She couldn't hide it but she tried. Her beautiful eyes gave her away. She looked away quickly and looked at me staring at her.

"So, will you come to my room after your practice today?" She asked me, not as upbeat as she was just moments ago. I felt the pain, the guilt, I knew what she was going through. I smiled at her.

"Yeah, Liss, of course! You know I will." No matter what I was going through she needed me too. We needed one another.

"I better get going. I needed to talk to the teacher before class starts. I will see you at lunch ok, Rose? It is so good to have you back at school." She smiled at me and the sincerity of her words filled me.

Eddie stood up too "I'll walk you to class, Lissa. I'll see you in class, Rose." he called as they walked away.

As soon as they were out of the building I walked over to the feeding room and waited for Christian. It wasn't long before he emerged. He smiled only slightly when he saw me.

"Rose." He greeted me.

"Christian." We walked over to the line and he reached for a yogurt. He turned to me.

"What did you need Rose?" He looked curious, not mad.

"I am not sure. I wanted to know how things were going. How are things?" I asked not wanting to get directly into things right away. I know that he would reject anything I jumped into right away.

"Just fine. Things are going well. I have gone back to being ignored by practically everyone. Not everyone though." He grinned a little.

"I see. Well I have to run. I will see you around." I waved at him as I started to turn.

As I was walking out I saw Jesse walking in. I had heard that he was pretty messed up in the head after what had happened. After what Lissa had done to him then after the sound beating that I had given him I wasn't sure how he was doing. I knew that physically he was fine. Lissa had healed him. I remembered how I had wanted to kill him and the rest of the wanna be bad asses in the Mână group.

I turned away from Jesse as the next thoughts hit me. The memories from the cabin that followed the feelings of anger and hate, the ones that Dimitri had taken from me with our love.

I walked out the doors not really paying too much attention to the person walking in. I walked right into Ralf. He stood there for a minute gaining his footing then he looked at me and realized who had run into him. I glared at him.

"Watch where you're going Rose." He grinned at me.

"You need to watch where I'm going Ralf, otherwise I might end up walking right over you." I bit off.

"So where were you, Rose? Why did you run away this time?" He asked snidely.

This was going to happen all day. I was prepared to ignore it all. Just as I was prepared to ignore it from him. Of all people why would I even think about answering him. Word was going to get around the school soon enough about how many Strigoi I killed though. They could not account for all of the killings, some of them were not mine. Some were to be accounted to the dhampirs that helped me in Novosibirsk. They were still trying to figure out how many kills to credit me with and when they do, I'm sure news of the molnija ceremony will be all over campus.

I am not sure what look Ralf may have seen on my face as memories passed though my mind. I looked him in the eyes and very low and quite menacingly said "You don't want to screw with me Ralf, do you?"

He back up a little and as soon as he was out of arms reach of me felt a little more confident then spoke to me again.

"It doesn't matter, you couldn't touch me Hathaway. You know if you do you will never have a chance at anything. I heard that if you end up touching another Moroi your hero status won't matter to anyone, they would lock you up in Lontano with Dashkov. No one would ever find you." He smirked at me not even realizing his mistake.

I took a few steps closer to Ralf leaned in a little and whispered so low that he had to strain to hear me "They would never know, if they never found you. They may just think you ran away because you went crazy, maybe because of the dealings that you have with Mână. You better watch yourself and what you say Ralf."

Standing up straight and smiling as sweetly as possible I looked him in the eyes "Bye, Ralf."

I walked away leaving him standing there with his mouth gaping, not exactly sure if I had just threatened him or not.


	3. Chapter Two

_AN: The VA Series is owned by Richelle Mead. Only Original places and characters are mine.

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Chapter Two

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I walked to my first novice class where we were preparing for the end of the year trials that would be coming up in the next few weeks. Every novice was worried they wouldn't pass. I didn't see it too threatening to my graduation but I did see it as extra practice time to go over every thing I knew and use it over and over again in preparation for what could be coming.

By the end of the training and overview no one in the class except Eddie was willing to spar with me. Guardian Langley replaced the teacher who had fallen in the attack back in March. He was new as a teacher at this school but he knew who I was. My reputation had been growing while I was gone. Not that it needed help, it grew while I was here. He approached me half way through class. He was not very old, maybe in his thirties with dark hair cropped short, tanned skin, and he asked me that I try to take it a little easier on the rest of the class.

"It isn't that I don't admire your gusto for your work Miss. Hathaway, I do, I just don't think that the other students are prepared to have that same admiration for your experience yet." He spoke to me in hushed soothing tones like I was a scared animal he was trying to calm down.

"Well Guardian Langley, maybe it is time that they learned what they are going to be facing out there in the real world, don't you think? They are only a couple months from graduating and protecting Moroi, if they don't know how to handle themselves that could cost them their lives, or worse, a Moroi life." I spoke bitterly.

He took a breath before responding to me. "Miss. Hathaway, these novices have had the same training that every guardian receives, that you yourself have also received. You have had the added bonus of your own personal trainer twice daily for some months up until recently. Then from what I have heard you preformed exceptionally, protecting the school from an unheard of type of attack, then assisted in a rescue mission. After which, even with recognition for your heroics, for what ever reason you left for almost five weeks, which I assume, is this real life experience in which you speak. I only ask that you go a bit easy on them. They are already nervous about the upcoming trials that they have to endure, they should not have to endure the wrath that is Rose Hathaway as well. You may be well prepared for this and therefore not nervous, they are a little nervous if you hadn't noticed." He spoke to me with hushed respect that took me by surprise as he recounted my life for the last several months

He took a moment to look around the room at the other students and then looked back at me. He took another breath then smiled down at me. "You could either stick to the basics, stick with the novices that will be willing to seemingly put themselves in danger by practicing with you, or maybe even help them."

I just looked at him. I was not sure if his words were respectful, the way that he spoke them was though, then this. I just lifted my chin at him.

"If that is all Guardian Langley I will go back to practicing now, I will stick to working with novices that are willing to take a risk." I said as I walked over to Eddie

By the time lunch had come my mind was exhausted from the lack of sleep and my stomach was protesting with it. I reached with the bond to Lissa and found her a little upset at one of the answers on her geometry quiz she had today. She felt that she could have done much better. I smiled knowing that it was only one answer that she missed, she had still got an A on the quiz. How could she really be upset. Then the real answer came, it was something that her and Christian were working on. It was something that Christian had understood completely and was trying to tutor her on.

I sighed as I walked to her table. Sitting next to her was Eddie and across from them was, of course, Adrian. She smiled brightly at me and I was filled with happy emotions through the bond.

"Hey Rose!" She chirped at me.

"Hey Liss." I smiled at her.

Adrian turned and looked up at me with a grin. I was still startled at the warmth that I felt in his presence now. "Hey there, little dhamphir."

"Hey Adrian." I gave him a small smile. Still unsure of how to proceed with him. Still unsure of the warm feelings that I had in my chest when I was with him.

I nodded over to Eddie. "Hey Eddie."

"Hey Rose, how's it going?" He asked me not meeting my eyes.

I looked at him curiously and felt a small pang of fear pass through the bond. I quickly swept the room with my eyes and then allowed my gaze to fall on Lissa. They all looked at how quickly my stance had tensed up.

"Hey, you really should relax there a bit little dhampir, you seem a little on edge." Adrian smirked.

I took a deep breath and gave him a man killer smile. "I'm just being prepared for anything Ivashkov."

I walked over to grab something to eat and I heard a laugh behind me. I turned to see Jesse standing behind me with Ralf. I glared at them both.

"Find something amusing Zeklos?" I all but growled at Jesse.

"Yes Rose, I do. The fact that you can't even seem to stay in school longer than a few months at a time. Are you actually going to stay around this time? Or are you going to abandon Lissa again?" He was baiting me.

I noticed that he was speaking with a slight lisp now, his mental state seemed to have recovered with the psychologist's help. I grinned at him. "So Zeklos, what happened? Why are you talking with a lisp? Something happen to your pretty mouth?"

He wasn't so quick to laugh anymore. He was glaring at me now. He knew that I was not around to see him return back to school after what had happened with Lissa and then myself. I was long gone on my mission. I didn't much care to see him around now. I would much rather of had him hauled off to Court to live. He and I both know that his lisp was something that was not able to be fixed by Lissa's ability to heal.

We glared at one another and he finally spoke "We heard that you ran off to be a blood whore, to live in a blood whore commune. Is it true?"

"Do you like having what pieces of your teeth you still have, Zeklos?" I threatened

Finally Ralf spoke up "You know that you can't do anything, Rose. If you didn't go to live with the blood whores, they would send you away to be one if you touched him."

"You mean..." I looked over at Ralf with an evil glint in my eyes "...if I touched him _again."_

"Is there a problem here?" I heard a male voice ask. I looked over to see Stan Alto walking up.

"No Guardian Alto. I was simply getting my lunch." I smiled at Stan and turned to walk away.

"I had heard you were back Miss. Hathaway." He looked at me. I simply nodded and walked back to my table and sat down next to Adrian with my pizza and salad that I had managed to get before being interrupted by the two idiots.

It did seem that Ralf knew where Victor was being held though. Lontano. I didn't know where that was. I was sure that there was one person that would though.

I smiled sweetly up into Adrian's dark green eyes. I felt Lissa go practically giddy through the bond. It was hard not to roll my eyes. I had noticed that Eddie was gone so I almost, _almost_, kicked her under the table.

"What can I do for you my little dhamphir?" He asked me almost seductively.

"I was just wondering if you might walk me to class after lunch." I gave him my best come hither eyes and hoped for the best.

He laughed and I could smell that he had not been drinking today, yet, anyway. He smelled of a slight hint of his aftershave and, well, Adrian. I didn't realize that I missed that smell until right now. It smelled slightly off though due to the lack of alcohol.

"Oh my sweet dhampir, I would love to, especially if it is in the direction of my room. Lissa and I are headed there to practice." His eyes almost sparkled.

"Thank you." I gently bit my bottom lip, turned as his breath caught and began to have my lunch, ignoring the questioning glances and feelings from Lissa. Unfortunately I was unable to avoid her thoughts. She made it very clear in her thoughts that we were going to be talking about this later.

I felt slightly guilty about it. I haven't told Lissa _everything_ about Dimitri yet. I told her about the note he sent and the stake. She understood all that. I did not tell her yet about my plan. She knows that when the time comes, if I must go she will go with me. She doesn't know yet though, that she will be facing down her murderous Uncle in Lontano, where ever that may end up being.

After lunch Lissa and Adrian walked with me out towards the Moroi dorms and towards my next class. I found Christian there waiting for me. I was not expecting this.

"Hey Rose, can I talk to you a minute?" He asked me trying not to be rude to Lissa but making it clear that he was not here for her. I felt her heart twist and ache.

"Yeah sure. Hey guys you go on ahead, I will see you after classes are over." I told Lissa and Adrian. I felt Lissa's heart ache and so many questions came into her head as Adrian draped his arm around her shoulders and gently led her away to go practice Spirit in his room.

I turned to Christian and gave him a small hug. "What's up?"

He looked like he was guilty for telling some bad joke. He grinned at me and held up his hands a bit.

"Well, you know how word has gotten around that you are back?" He asked

I nod, here comes the bad punch line.

"Jill was wondering if you could come by sometime. Her and her friends at the training sessions that I hold for them would love to see you. They would almost faint if you came by." He asked almost sheepishly.

I laughed at him. "Is that _all_ Ozera? Really? Of course I will!"

He sighed in relief. "You have no idea how much this will mean to Jill and her friends. You are like an idol for them." He smiled. "Not that I understand, _why_, maybe it is a _girl_ thing." He teased me.

I just smiled and nodded "Yeah Christian, a girl thing, that is it. Not on the off chance that I could be a bad ass guardian or anything."

He laughed at me. "Don't get too confident Hathaway, you're not a guardian yet."

"Oh I will be."

"Yes, Rose, you will be."

"I will be protecting Liss, too."

His smile faded slowly as my words reminded him about her. "Yeah, you're going to do a great job."

"Have you talked to her about things?" I asked softly knowing that I needed to fix this.

He laughed at me. "Oh no you don't Rose. Not right now. I have to get to class. So do you. Besides, I don't want to have this talk right now."

Grinning I warned "You can't avoid having this conversation with me forever you know."  
This time it was my smile that faltered. "No one has forever you know."

He looked at me curiously and looked as if he was about to ask what that was suppose to mean but decided it was best not to. I was grateful for that.

I smiled and looked up at him. "So, when do you want me to come by and dazzle your little cohorts?"

He was happy about this. "I will let Jill know you will be stopping by practice this week to say hi. It will give her time to get more of her friends to come and tackle you."

Laughing I asked Christian "Am I walking into a torture chamber of high pitched girl voices and admiration?" He just laughed and turned to walk away. "I'll let you know Rose."

Walking to class I could feel that Liss was really upset by seeing Christian. She had let me know how long it had been since the last time that she had seen him. This was painful for her. It had been long enough that she was able to get the hurt down to a dull ache. She still loved him though. His obvious snub of her for her best friend was hard for her to take.

I sat down in class and tried to pay attention to what was going on. I nodded to Eddie who was also in this class with me. I ignored the things being said around me. I didn't have time to deal with nonsense rumors right now. I have been through so much that rumors were the last thing that seemed to matter.

Trying to pay attention to what the Moroi teacher was saying I was suddenly pulled into Lissa's head. I wasn't expecting it, I had let my guard down. She was with Adrian, they usually practice Spirit, it usually only fills me with good feelings. Not today. Suddenly I was sitting across from Adrian in his room on his floor.

I saw his aura, bright gold surrounding him. He had a look of concern on his face as pain ripped through my heart. Lissa's pain. Lissa began to sob. Adrian pulled her into his arms. I felt his arms around me and it wasn't romantic it was in an almost brotherly way. She was in so much pain from Christian.

"It's ok Liss. It will be ok." He spoke softly to her.

"He just ignored me." she sobbed into his shirt probably ruining it. Or at the very least, forcing him to get it dry cleaned. He held her for a while whispering to her gently. Soon her sobbing stopped and she sat up looking into his eyes with gratitude.

He handed her a tissue. She wiped her eyes, stood up and gently blew her nose walking to throw the tissue away. "Thanks so much Adrian. It means a lot to be able to get that out." she smiled at him and I could feel that her pain was still there but it was being buried slowly and her mind was racing. She was trying to get her mind back on the magic.

"No problem cousin." He smiled sincerely. "I understand."

Her and I were both curious about this. How did he know? So she asked "You do?"

"Of course! Love is elusive, it likes to run all over the world, chasing down impossible conquests, when all along, the love itself, seems like the impossible conquest. How can it not cause you pain?" His eyes were distant and he was looking at Lissa and looking past her. We both knew who he was talking about. He blinked and smiled up at her and patted the ground in front of him.

"Have a seat cousin. Let us try to practice again." He smiled again at her looking more like Adrian. I couldn't help but remember that day back at the Ski lodge.

"I don't know if I want to practice dream walking. Actually, I was thinking that I could practice it later. What I really want to take a look at is this." She pulled the ring out of her pocket and handed it to him.

His smile spread. A warm feeling spread over my heart that wasn't coming from Lissa. He knew what this was. We had shown him the ring soon after I explained it all to Lissa. We figured that since he was the only other Spirit user within distance we had we needed him. They had been trying to figure out how it worked since. Adrian was using his seemingly limitless resources to figure it out. They didn't want to bother me with the details so they wouldn't allow me to simply call Oksna and Mark and ask for help. I felt that Lissa wanted to treat it as a challenge. I was hoping that she could get me another one before graduation day.

He gets up and grabs some pieces of paper and hands them to her. "I have retrieved this information for you. I think that it may be useful for us to help recreate another one of these for her."

I returned to myself in class now that her and I were both in better control of ourselves. I quickly put the block back in place. I was obviously no longer safe to let that guard down when she was practicing magic with Adrian. It was second nature to me now anyways. I just enjoyed the feelings of the magic sometimes.

I looked around. I noticed that Eddie was looking at me. He knew what had happened and he looked concerned. I only nodded to him. He understood that everything was fine. Then he quickly went back to his notes. I settled in to wait for the end of class. Maybe I would check back in on Lissa again before class was over. This class was pretty boring.

I sat in class thinking about all the promises that I have made. The most immediate thought that came to mind had me checking in with Lissa and Adrian sooner than I had planned. I made sure that there was nothing important being discussed in class at the moment and slipped easily into Lissa's head just as easily as if I was breathing.

"...didn't want it to be that way." He looked slightly frustrated at whatever the topic was. I quickly scanned Lissa's head and realized what the topic was. It was ME! I groaned internally. I should have known this was coming. I thought about leaving but quickly dismissed it. This was kind of why I had checked back in with Lissa in the first place.

She nodded her head. "I understand, Adrian. I just wanted to ask."

Being inside her head I knew what she had just asked him. I also knew that she has plans to talk to me about it later.

She looks down at the ring in her hand and suddenly I am filled with fear of losing, well, me. She turns the ring over worried that she will lose me one day.

"Liss, what's wrong?" Adrian asks

She looks up at him and gives him the best smile she can manage. "I am just so scared of losing her one day Adrian. I was afraid I had lost her once, I don't want that to ever happen again." She confessed her fear to him.

He smiled sympathetically at her. "She came back Lissa, I don't think you have to worry about her ever leaving _you_ ever again. She loves you, she wants to protect you. I know the feeling though. It is a scary feeling to think you are losing someone, especially someone as amazing as her. Sometimes...." He trailed off with a mixed look of fear, longing, and wonder on his face.

"Sometimes you have to take risks to let the ones you love be who they are and to be happy. You have to trust they will choose to come back." He smiled looking out the window lost in his own thoughts.

Guilt flooded though the bond that we still hadn't told him about Dimitri. She knew I didn't want any one to know that I had failed. Not yet. I needed more information. Especially since I still wasn't sure what was going to happen with Adrian.

I did not want to hurt him. I made him a promise. A promise I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to keep. Seeing him through her eyes made it even harder to tell him about Dimitri. I knew I had to though. I just had to figure out _when_ I was going to. He deserved to know. I owed him that much.

He was the only one who truly understood what I had to do in the first place. How was I suppose to tell him that I failed though? Then when I gathered more information, tell him that I was going to try to restore Dimitri's soul so that I cold be with him again? I didn't know how I was going to be able to hurt him but I knew I had to and soon.

I returned to myself after that and went on about my day. I was going to see Lissa soon enough. I was looking forward to practice with Alberta. It would help clear my mind. Walking across campus to the gym to meet Alberta for practice I couldn't help but think about the information that Adrian had obtained for Lissa and the infused ring. It was a start. I wonder how long it would take for her and I to obtain the balance Mark was telling me about.

If Lissa could truly heal the darkness out of me and only do it so that there was a good balance between us, then we would be good to go. The problem is, we don't know how much energy it would take for Lissa to do that. She is still so young and new to this. She has never tried to do it before either.

I was lost in thought when I saw a tall pale figure with brown hair approaching me.

I smiled into the familiar green eyes the looked down into my face. "Hey Adrian."

"Hello little dhampir." He greeted me. "I was wondering if you could meet me after your practice?"

"I had plans to meet with Lissa after practice. Maybe after that." I declined. I wanted to be able to have a chance to talk to Lissa before spending any more time alone with him.

"Well why don't you and Lissa both come to my room and we can all hang out there?" He grinned

"I am sure that we can arrange for that, Ivashkov." I smiled as I saw his eyes seem to light up. He reached up and let his thumb stroke my cheek gently.

"Until then my little dhampir." He leaned in and hugged me and I could smell the woodsy smell that clung gently to him from the clove cigarettes. It seemed to mix with him, it has become part of Adrian's sent.

"Bye Adrian." I turn and jog to the gym for practice.

After practice I ran to my room, quickly showered and dressed then headed to the Moroi dorms. On the way there Lissa had met me half way. She was with Eddie already.

"Hey guys. I was just on my way up to your room Liss."

"Oh hey, Rose, that's ok. Let's go." She grabbed my hand and started dragging me towards the guest dorms.

I looked over at Eddie questioningly. He just shrugged and avoided my eyes, again. That was so weird. I was going to have to ask him about that. Since it still wasn't curfew yet we headed up to Adrian's room after getting past the guardian on duty and knocked. He opened after a few seconds with a huge grin on his face.

Lissa pulled me into the room and I smelled the Italian food and my mouth began watering. I looked between Adrian, Lissa, and Eddie and they all smiled. Even Eddie. Lissa was about to burst through the bond. She was so excited that she was able to keep this from me all day. I hugged her.

"Thank you guys." I looked at them all. I hugged Eddie too. Adrian needed no prompting. He came up and hugged me a little longer than he probably needed to, I didn't mind, nor did I pull away.

"So Eddie, is this why you avoided me all day?" I asked

"You have no idea how hard it was not to say anything! Lissa hid it better than I did!" He was more animated right now than I think I may have seen him in a long time.

I laughed at him.

"Alright guys, why?" I questioned them.

"Isn't it obvious Rose? We are celebrating your return to school!" Lissa was so excited.

All the pastas were almost gone and the bread sticks were down to crumbs. We sat around in a circle talking about how Eddie had ended up giving David McNair a black eye in training one day. It felt really good and almost normal again.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"It isn't curfew yet, is it?" Lissa asked

"No, we still have about an hour left." Eddie informed her.

Adrian's tall frame gracefully stood up from the floor and strode over to the door. My heart caught in my throat at the many different possibilities of who would be standing on the other side and what news they may be bringing. Adrian opened the door and his face showed slight shock as his eyebrows lifted.

"I didn't expect to find you knocking on my door." Adrian spoke to the stranger behind the door.


End file.
